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[Godot25]

But over the last two years, Ryan has overseen a PlayStation shift toward “games as a service,” a popular industry buzzword referring to video games, usually multiplayer, that can be monetized over long periods of time. It’s been an uncomfortable pivot for some of Sony’s studios, which have spent the last decade building out teams of experienced developers to make big, cinematic adventure games that are played solo.

Those single-player blockbusters are still in the works (and one, Spider-Man 2, will come to PS5 in just a few weeks). But Sony’s stable of game studios, such as Naughty Dog (The Last of Us), Insomniac (Spider-Man) and Guerrilla Games (Horizon), have also been working on multiplayer service games — with mixed levels of success. Most have not been revealed yet. Some have been canceled or overhauled, such as an online game based on The Last of Us.

Game-development teams that spend years working together tend to cultivate a certain style. Often, making a drastic pivot from a familiar genre to something brand new can have disastrous results — just ask the developers of Anthem. Games as a service are particularly difficult to create, as they require a formula that gets gamers to consistently play over long periods of time, which is a very different ask than a single story.

Early last year, Ryan helmed Sony’s acquisition of Destiny-maker Bungie, one of the top service game developers in the world, in hopes of accelerating this pivot. But it took Bungie decades to develop the teams, technology and production pipelines that have made Destiny successful — and even so, they had some serious growing pains along the way. Even Bungie’s expertise has not yet been able to turn PlayStation Studios into a service-game factory.

Now, with Ryan on his way out, there are a lot of questions to ask about the strategic future of PlayStation. Some insiders are worried about the company’s lack of coherent vision, with its seemingly misplaced bets on service games, niche VR headsets and a baffling machine called the PlayStation Portal that allows people to play PS5 games on the go — assuming they’re at home, on their own WiFi and streaming from their consoles.

It’s not yet clear who will succeed Ryan. But whoever it is, they will have a tough task on their hands — and that’s before trying to avoid the ire of video-game fans.

So it is basically confirmed that even Insomniac is making GAAS game

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Reserved while I read

"But over the last two years, Ryan has overseen a PlayStation shift toward “games as a service,” a popular industry buzzword referring to video games, usually multiplayer, that can be monetized over long periods of time. It’s been an uncomfortable pivot for some of Sony’s studios, which have spent the last decade building out teams of experienced developers to make big, cinematic adventure games that are played solo."

This is why for me

 

[SlimySnake]

Good on Jason to not ignore our voices.

For all his faults, he is a good reporter.

 

[Topher]

"But over the last two years, Ryan has overseen a PlayStation shift toward “games as a service,” a popular industry buzzword referring to video games, usually multiplayer, that can be monetized over long periods of time. It’s been an uncomfortable pivot for some of Sony’s studios, which have spent the last decade building out teams of experienced developers to make big, cinematic adventure games that are played solo."

This is why for me

 

[Crayon]

Dear idiots,

They are going to be losing a massive load of revenue from call of duty one of these days. And who knows what else. The gass is them not waiting around to do something about it. That will not change.

 

[Unknown?]

Eh, I like him more than House because he was too safe while Ryan aggressively expanded their first parties. I welcome change though.

 

[dottme]

Video-game enthusiasts don’t normally care too much about executive shuffling

ill recommend him to try to look for Phil Spencer on GAF to see how video game enthusiasts don’t give a fuck.

 

[Topher]

Dear idiots,

They are going to be losing a massive load of revenue from call of duty one of these days. And who knows what else. The gass is them not waiting around to do something about it. That will not change.

No, Sony was going down the Gaas road long before Call of Duty came into the picture.

 

[systemr123]

ill recommend him to try to look for Phil Spencer on GAF to see how video game enthusiasts don’t give a fuck.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Dear idiots,

They are going to be losing a massive load of revenue from call of duty one of these days. And who knows what else. The gass is them not waiting around to do something about it. That will not change.

Sony has a 10 year deal with COD. So assuming MS cuts the cord in 2033, Sony and their fans won have to worry about COD disappearing until PS7 is around the corner.

 

[ReBurn]

Too bad JR was banned. It would have been nice to see him float, but I'm not going to go to his forum to see it.

 

[Azelover]

At least they are not asking Michael Pachter for insights anymore. That's good, now we're getting somewhere.

 

[Crayon]

No, Sony was going down the Gaas road long before Call of Duty came into the picture.

Maybe I didn't get the memo. I remember all the uproar starting quite suddenly when they gave a presentation about doubling their development investment with the additional part being for gaas. While the investment in normal stuff stayed the same, mind you.

 

[Crayon]

Sony has a 10 year deal with COD. So assuming MS cuts the cord in 2033, Sony and their fans won have to worry about COD disappearing until PS7 is around the corner.

So how long do you think they should sit on ass waiting to do something?

 

[Banjo64]

No point blaming JR for the direction PS is heading, the Japanese side have palmed the division off to fucking California of all places. Pretty clear from that alone that they want to be another Westernbox just like Xbox.

 

[owandeseis]

I'd rather Insomniac creating a new game as a service than them just releasing the same game each 3 years.

 

[March Climber]

Dear idiots,

They are going to be losing a massive load of revenue from call of duty one of these days. And who knows what else. The gass is them not waiting around to do something about it. That will not change.

Yea, this is what they need to understand.

However, the problem is that Jim Ryan came across as desperate. Not only did he whine about losing CoD in the future, he also made nearly every single Playstation studio begin work on GAAS titles and then publicly told everyone about this plan.

From an outside perspective it seemed like he was making desperation plays in order to throw anything at the wall to hope it would stick. So many questions arose from this...Are any of these teams aside from Bungie even built for GAAS? Do they even know how to do one successfully? Will all of these GAAS games cause developmental issues on other projects? etc.

 

[A Most Virtuous Cat]

I pray that this signals an end to the frenzied focus on GaaS by Sony.

 

[Katatonic]

This whole hating Jim Ryan thing is so suspicious.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Almost entire article is forum-level rumblings that hardly can be called reporting tbh. 'Some insiders', my ass. Good thing it's not co-written by Mochizuki at least.

 

[Crayon]

Yea, this is what they need to understand.

However, the problem is that Jim Ryan came across as desperate. Not only did he whine about losing CoD in the future, he also made nearly every single Playstation studio begin work on GAAS titles and then publicly told everyone about this plan.

From an outside perspective it seemed like he was making desperation plays in order to throw anything at the wall to hope it would stick. So many questions arose from this...Are any of these teams aside from Bungie even built for GAAS? Do they even know how to do one successfully? Will all of these GAAS games cause developmental issues on other projects? etc.

I hear where you're coming from but it's based on online fan chatter. I realize the article is about exactly that but the actual plan won't change much even if they manage to sell a prolific huckster in Jim's place who can fool all fans with a battletoads shirt

 

[Tsaki]

This whole hating Jim Ryan thing is so suspicious.

Got to compensate for the past week.

 

[Bloobs]

 

[Draugoth]

Hiroki Totoki is going to push for the same things Ryan already pushed: Mobile and GaaS

Almost entire article is forum-level rumblings that hardly can be called reporting tbh. 'Some insiders', my ass. Good thing it's not co-written by Mochizuki at least.

Im only seeing this sentiment with hardcore Playstation owners, most people other than Xbox fanboys as well don't care

 

[Little Chicken]

Kidding himself if he thinks the PS5 GAAS roadmap is going anywhere.

 

[Topher]

Hiroki Totoki is going to push for the same things Ryan already pushed: Mobile and GaaS

Totoki is only filling in as the interim CEO. He is not Jim Ryan's replacement.

 

[Gambit2483]

Don't forget the shitty price increase of PS Plus while offering nothing of value in return.

 

[Thirty7ven]

“Games as a service are particularly difficult to create, as they require a formula that gets gamers to consistently play over long periods of time, which is a very different ask than a single story.

Early last year, Ryan helmed Sony’s acquisition of Destiny-maker Bungie, one of the top service game developers in the world, in hopes of accelerating this pivot. But it took Bungie decades to develop the teams, technology and production pipelines that have made Destiny successful — and even so, they had some serious growing pains along the way. Even Bungie’s expertise has not yet been able to turn PlayStation Studios into a service-game factory.”


LOL

This guy is embarrassing.

 

[JokerMM]

So now they'll shift focus to the Japanese market right?
Right??

 

[kaizenkko]

People don't realise that Sony's strategy will not change. They not buy Bungie for 3,6 bi last year to just give up without even try.

And, if they really are thinking in changing something, this worry me more than any gaas project (their management must be a total mess).

 

[Draugoth]

Totoki is only filling in as the interim CEO. He is not Jim Ryan's replacement.

I know, but he will keep the plans.

Anyone celebrating Ryan retirement is dumb and should stop giving so much sweat for a billion dollar company.

 

[ChiefDada]

Why? Because they don't understand the challenging economics required to keep the high production/cinematic/visually stunning 3rd person narrative games flowing. And these are the same dolts who are complaining about game prices being too high.

If Sony doesn't find success developing a compelling GAAS, knowing that large 3rd party publishers who may have the capacity to do so can get swept up at any time by Tencent, Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. , then how will these beloved games get funded? A question these ridiculous PlayStation fans never thought of, let alone have the answer to.

So it is basically confirmed that even Insomniac is making GAAS game

No need to worry about Insomniac. They've proven countless times they can walk and chew gum simultaneously.

 

[March Climber]

I hear where you're coming from but it's based on online fan chatter. I realize the article is about exactly that but the actual plan won't change much even if they manage to sell a prolific huckster in Jim's place who can fool all fans with a battletoads shirt

I'm agreeing with most of your points here. Honestly, I don't want to involve another company exec, because that would muddy the waters as that other guy you're mentioning has his own problems.

I don't quite know what the solution is from a PR perspective. It's clear that Jim Ryan simply spoke too much and let out too much of his game plan. Gamers seem to prefer the mystique of not knowing until a company is ready to show something tangible. That's also my real issue here, not his actual plan but the way he went about letting everyone know.

 

[Crayon]

I'm agreeing with most of your points here. Honestly, I don't want to involve another company exec, because that would muddy the waters as that other guy you're mentioning has his own problems.

I don't quite know what the solution is from a PR perspective. It's clear that Jim Ryan simply spoke too much and let out too much of his game plan. Gamers seem to prefer the mystique of not knowing until a company is ready to show something tangible. That's also my real issue here, not his actual plan but the way he went about letting everyone know.

You're right. I'm hammering out posts quicker than my reading comprehension can keep up lol. Anyway lunch break over.

 

[Godot25]

No need to worry about Insomniac. They've proven countless times they can walk and chew gum simultaneously.

I think we can all agree that making GAAS game is different beast and having success in traditional games does not mean that you will make great GAAS game.
BioWare? Crystal Dynamics? ringing any bells? Naughty Dog had to scrapped their work on TLOU MP game because it did not have staying power.

I mean. I'm not predicting that Insomniac GAAS will flop hard. I'm just pointing out that pretending that to make quality SP game requires same skill as making great GAAS game is just flat out wrong.

 

[Topher]

Maybe I didn't get the memo. I remember all the uproar starting quite suddenly when they gave a presentation about doubling their development investment with the additional part being for gaas. While the investment in normal stuff stayed the same, mind you.

Sony revealed the 10 Gaas project under development in February 2022. Bungie acquisition was announced in January 2022. So clearly Sony had already made plans to move in that direction before the ABK acquisition was announced. The investment numbers were shown later. I remember them, but I can't recall exactly when that was.

I know, but he will keep the plans.

Anyone celebrating Ryan retirement is dumb and should stop giving so much sweat for a billion dollar company.

I don't think there is any need to characterize it like that. Several of us want Sony to return to what made PlayStation great. Perhaps we would feel differently if there had been a showcase worth a damn the last two years that showed us what was upcoming. I know a hell of a lot more about PlayStation's Gaas plans than I do about their traditional games. Wanting a change from that approach to PlayStation gaming isn't dumb.

 

[Elbereth]

Why "some" Playstation fans are cheering CEO's Departure...

Way to bury the lede Bloomberg...

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Way to bury the lede Bloomberg...

Look at their PlayStation-related articles full of lies or half-thruths lol (Mr. Mochizuki is their fill-time clown even). At this point I really think that they are shorting Sony stocks or something like this. This article is not even reporting per-se, it's just an opinion piece by Schreier that is full of popular Ryan-related buzzwords and forum-level analysis. More or less on part with Forbes Paul Tassi.

 

[Horseganador]

Another Bloomberg article with the same old narrative, Sony = everything is bad and they don't come out of it.

 

[ChiefDada]

I think we can all agree that making GAAS game is different beast and having success in traditional games does not mean that you will make great GAAS game.
BioWare? Crystal Dynamics? ringing any bells? Naughty Dog had to scrapped their work on TLOU MP game because it did not have staying power.

I mean. I'm not predicting that Insomniac GAAS will flop hard. I'm just pointing out that pretending that to make quality SP game requires same skill as making great GAAS game is just flat out wrong.

Right, but wasn't that the reason behind the Bungie acquisition? To mitigate the knowledge/experience limitations?

 

[Fbh]

I didn't like Jim Ryan and I don't like the direction Playstation has taken under him.

But people expecting some new face will show up and refocus everything on core single player games are kidding themselves.
While some moves by Ryan might be questionable (like the insistence on VR) I don't see why Sony higher ups and shareholders would be looking for a drastic change of the core Ps5 business when the console is easily beating the Xbox and is even outpacing the Ps4. I'm also pretty sure just mentioning GaaS has probably given most share holder their first blue pill free erection in years

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I think he did a damn good job on all fronts. Great hardware. Great software. Improved the services. etc.
The only lie I know of that I pin on him was that GT7 was first announced as PS5 exclusive and then changed to crossgen. But even that was probably due to the stock issues at the beginning of the gen, so even that lie is kinda meh to me.
People that think the "we believe in generations" statement was a lie, didn't read the rest of the article. He mentioned supporting the PS4 for years. But he delivered a current gen controller and current gen only games Day 1. While the competition might get a current gen controller in year 3-4 . . .

 

[Yoda]

Wouldn't lump myself in as a Playstation fan (I do have a PS5, but generally I game on PC during my limited free time); that being said, he came across as Bobby Kotick lite. Playstation is able to out-compete Microsoft despite having an order of magnitude less resources because they focused on high quality products, in this case the product is first party games. Such a strategy is the anti-thesis of your standard MBA thinking of maximizing short term profits at all costs, as it required focused investment over the better part of a decade in a gaming segment most industry insiders treat as old news. I think the point about all the upcoming GaaS illustrates this line of thinking best. The few game devs I do know who work at AAA studios despise GaaS personally, even if they're working on them due to career/monetary/other circumstance reasons.

 

[Crayon]

Sony revealed the 10 Gaas project under development in February 2022. Bungie acquisition was announced in January 2022. So clearly Sony had already made plans to move in that direction before the ABK acquisition was announced. The investment numbers were shown later. I remember them, but I can't recall exactly when that was.

Sure enough the presentation was before the Activision news. We can't be sure if they saw it coming of course. All we have is his word for it; the quote that was floating around recently. I'd say it's hard to know if it's primarily Activision or was consolidation in general or simply looking for avenues of growth with no mind paid to acquisitions. One sure thing is that now it's more important than ever.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Right, but wasn't that the reason behind the Bungie acquisition? To mitigate the knowledge/experience limitations?

If we look at JS history of Sony articles, his sources are usually from the junior or at best middle lever of processes and management. So his 'insiders' are usually don't see the forest behind the trees. That's how the cookie crumbles and what you're always need to keep in your mind reading this 'reports'. The quality of sources usually distorts the truth a lot despite the direct access to the company's employees.

 

[Elios83]

Terrible article with half lies used to push a personal point of view.

 

[StealthGoblin]

People really need to think more carefully about Jim Ryan's tenure.

Under his leadership there has been the most rapid and sustained growth of PlayStation Studios, record revenue, expansion onto more platforms etc

The guy has planted many seeds that will bare fruit. The GAAS initiative will help sustain PlayStation. Project Chronos will take it to new places. China and India are being incorporated etc

To my tastes the communication has been poor, but then the guy is a master marketer and had his finger on the pulse. He had access to all the data and the business is booming, so while I'd like it differently, what he has done clearly worked.

And you just know that Xbox are worried about the GAAS initiative. They know full well that if Sony pull even one of those games off its going to cause them a headache.

 

[TrebleShot]

I wonder if theyll
Try and course correct or if they are too far down the line.

 

[adamsapple]

The memes, that's why.

 

[midnightAI]

Terrible article with half lies used to push a personal point of view.

It's a Schreier article so...